Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans rescues man from life raft

Dec 10th, 2014 · Comments Off on Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans rescues man from life raft

NEW ORLEANS — The Coast Guard rescued a man from a life raft 30 miles south of Southwest Pass, Wednesday.

A crewmember aboard the motor vessel Harvey Pacer notified Coast Guard Sector New Orleans after receiving a Mayday call from the sailing vessel Amsheet, reportedly stating it had struck an unknown object and was taking on water and that the owner was in a life raft.

A Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and aircrew was deployed and arrived on scene where the crew hoisted the man aboard and transported him back to Air Station New Orleans at 7 a.m.

“The survivor was very well prepared with proper clothing, life preserver, life raft, and a radio,” said Lt. Jay Kircher, a pilot at the air station. “All of these items helped ensure a quick recovery with no injuries.”

The survivor also had a satellite GPS tracker onboard his life raft which gave Sector New Orleans periodic position updates, greatly decreasing the amount of time spent searching once the helicopter arrived on scene.